Medical Student Lands 359-lb Grouper

A medical student who blindfolds his friends to keep his favorite offshore fishing spot secret has come up with a record-beating fish — a warsaw grouper weighing 359.1 pounds (163 kg).

The giant hauled in by J.J. Tabor of Thibodaux is 12 ounces above the previous Louisiana state record, a state biologist confirmed.

It's been cut down to fillets. The first fillet weighed 53 pounds, Tabor said. He caught it near an oil rig 70 miles south of Fourchon, in 400 feet of water.

Tabor says he believes the fish is about 33 years old. He plans to send an inner-ear bone called the otolith to a university in Florida where researchers can help determine the age of the fish. He hopes to get the results in about four weeks.

The world record, caught off Florida in 1985, is 436 pounds, 12 ounces.